Video: criminal porcupine caught stealing!

Borana lodge had long had a cheeky Crested porcupine who regularly broke into unsecured rooms in search of snacks. He seemed to have a fondness for tormenting the poor lodge manager, Hunter – either that or Hunter must have catered for his specific tastes – as he followed his fridge into his new house.

Any door that wasn’t securely latched was fair game, be it pushed open with his bulk or pried open with his incisors.

I was running an EcoTraining Safari Guide course at the time when Hunter finally got a new lock for his front door. Before it was installed, we decided to try and film the scoundrel in the act. With GoPros and camera traps all set to timelapse and plugged in to battery packs, it was only a matter of time before we caught our little culprit red handed.

Minutes after everyone was asleep, the prickly customer came knocking. Ignoring the clove of garlic, he went straight for the junk food – prized Nanyuki chips. His noisy chomping and drumming footfalls woke Hunter, Shaun and also poor Florence, who had the misfortune of living below deck. Sensing danger, the porcupine made a break for it just as Shaun Mousley came running in, having had no time to even change!
In the end, the locks did their job and the porcupine can thank us for forcing him on a diet.

EcoTraining is a passionate environmentally-conscious company specialising in the training of nature-guides and those with a deep appreciation of the natural world. We provide participants on our courses with amazing life-changing experiences. Courses are run in simple unfenced bush camps.

About us

Safari company
Tailored safari specialists. When and where to go in Africa, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late or a few kilometers off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?